


The Big Shrink

by Kaatyr



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe, Audio Format: MP3, Friendship, Gen, One Shot, Podfic Available, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27274126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaatyr/pseuds/Kaatyr
Summary: An afternoon at the carnival with his friend Leorio leaves Kurapika in a very unusual and unexpected predicament. A Detective Conan AU.
Relationships: Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight
Kudos: 9





	The Big Shrink

**Author's Note:**

> This story is available in audio form for those who would prefer to listen rather than read. Please note that this is a text to speech recording, which means that there may be some issues with it.
> 
> [Stream or download MP3 from Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pSkEjZ62wFS4EhW8ofWIBeuIAoBdThOk/view?usp=sharing)

Kurapika rifled anxiously through the contents of the drawer, cursing as his too-long sleeves kept falling to cover his hands. When he finally found what he was looking for, he held it up and studied it speculatively.

“That might fit,” he muttered. He set the shorts aside and pulled out the rest of the outfit. A uniform jacket, a button-up white shirt and a tie joined the shorts on the floor.

Kurapika wriggled free of his current outfit, which was much too large for him. Just hours earlier, it had fit well. Much to Kurapika’s relief, his old school uniform fit his new body perfectly.

Kurapika studied himself in the full-length mirror next to the guest room’s closet. A short, skinny boy in grey shorts and white shirt. Kurapika had decided to forego wearing the uniform jacket and tie. He just needed something to cover himself that could pass for casual clothes.

Kurapika ran his fingers through his hair, noting that it was longer than it had been when he last wore this uniform. His body’s age had to be about six, given how well the uniform fit him.

With a groan, Kurapika turned away from the mirror. He should have known that the evening would turn out badly given how it had started.

Kurapika hadn’t wanted to go to the carnival at all, much less ride on the Tunnel of Love, but his best friend Leorio had insisted.

“We’re not in love,” Kurapika had pointed out coldly.

“I’m going to pretend not to be insulted by that,” Leorio had replied as he’d pushed Kurapika into line ahead of him.

Kurapika had sulkily gone along with Leorio’s silly idea, sure that Leorio had suggested it just because he knew that Kurapika wouldn’t like it. Kurapika had thought that the ride would be boring, but it had actually been anything but. One person hadn’t come out of the tunnel alive.

Kurapika, who had the misfortune of sitting right behind that young lady, had easily unmasked her killer. His close proximity had given him a clear view of what had happened, despite the dimness of the tunnel. His excellent night vision had helped too.

After the police had finally allowed them to go home, Kurapika had been more than ready for a quiet night. He’d parted from Leorio and started on his way when he happened to notice two men behaving suspiciously—two men he recognised from the Tunnel of Love ride.

Kurapika hadn’t gotten good vibes from them. He thought that they were too old to be on the ride. Everyone else had been of high school age. Those men also clearly weren’t in a romantic relationship. From his observations, Kurapika suspected that they were business partners. They didn’t seem to like each other very much.

Unfortunately, the men had noticed Kurapika spying on them and had taken exception to that. They had knocked Kurapika on the head, then forced him to swallow a pill.

From what Kurapika had overheard, the pill was an undetectable drug intended to be fatal, but instead Kurapika had woken up a few minutes later on the concrete of the dirty alley with a splitting headache and considerably less body mass than before.

Kurapika had no idea what to do. Going home seemed to be his best option, though he had no idea how he was going to handle tomorrow.

Kurapika’s parents were overseas, so he had no fear of being discovered. Until—

_Ring, ring!_

Kurapika paused in the hall, his heart jumping into his throat. That was the doorbell. He wasn’t expecting any visitors.

_Ring, ring!_

Kurapika made his way down the stairs and to the entrance hall while wrestling mentally with his options. Ignoring the doorbell seemed to be the most prudent solution. Except—

Kurapika heard the distinctive jingling of keys, then the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Not his parents. They would have called or texted him to let him know they were coming home. That meant—

The door opened and a tall form stepped inside, peering around his teashade sunglasses into the gloom of the foyer.

Leorio.

Leorio was the only person other than Kurapika’s immediate family who possessed a key to his home.

Before Kurapika could think to hide himself, Leorio caught sight of him.

“Uh, hello,” he said uncertainly, looking Kurapika over searchingly. “I didn’t know Kurapika had anyone staying with him.”

Kurapika’s mouth felt too dry to speak. All he could do was nod numbly. What was he supposed to do? He was drawing a complete blank.

“I came over to return his bag. I guess he didn’t realise that he forgot it at the carnival.” Leorio held up said bag, and Kurapika mentally cringed. He absolutely hadn’t realised that he’d forgotten it. How stupid of him.

—And Leorio had gone and got it for him.

“Uh, thanks,” Kurapika said, still in a fuddled daze. His voice sounded too small and childish.

Leorio took a step into the house and closed the door behind himself. “Are you related to Kurapika?” he asked. “You do look like him.”

Related? Kurapika seized on the excuse with desperate hands. “Yes. I’m… uh, his cousin,” Kurapika said.

“He never mentioned you,” Leorio said, frowning as he dropped Kurapika’s bag on the bench seat next to the coat closet.

Kurapika could only shrug in response.

“Where is he?” Leorio inquired.

Kurapika drew another blank. He hated being put on the spot like this. He couldn’t think properly. If only he had a little bit of time to plan…

“I don’t know where he is,” Kurapika said helplessly.

“He left you here alone?” Leorio asked. “I guess that’s not much of a surprise. He never even took you to the carnival… I’ll call him.”

“Uh, don’t!” Kurapika said desperately. If Leorio called his phone, he’d realise that it was upstairs. At Leorio’s raised eyebrow of inquiry, Kurapika said, “I already tried calling him. He, uh, said he couldn’t talk and I should just… stay here.”

“On your own?” Leorio asked, bewildered.

Kurapika nodded, his bangs falling into his face.

“What’s your name?” Leorio asked.

“Um…” Kurapika mentally chastised himself. He’d never sounded so unintelligent in his life. Why couldn’t he just speak clearly? “Pairo,” he said. It was the first name that came into his head. He hoped that his real cousin Pairo wouldn’t mind Kurapika borrowing his identity. Given that Pairo was currently attending boarding school in France, he probably wouldn’t ever even find out about it.

“Pairo.” Leorio repeated the name before giving Kurapika a reassuring smile. “I’m Leorio,” he said. “Your really irresponsible cousin’s best friend.”

“Okay,” Kurapika said, feeling stung by the insult.

“Did he at least leave you dinner?” Leorio inquired.

Kurapika frowned, wondering if the greasy food he’d ate at the carnival counted as dinner. Leorio took his hesitation as a negative.

“Jeez, that guy is an idiot,” Leorio grumbled. He shed his coat and strode toward the kitchen. “Come on, kid.”

Feeling as if he were a ball being kicked around carelessly by teenagers at the local park, Kurapika followed his (now much taller) friend into the vast kitchen. Leorio checked the cupboards, tutting about Kurapika’s bad eating habits as he did so.

Kurapika climbed up onto a stool and watched with interest as Leorio gathered ingredients and implements. He hadn’t realised that Leorio knew his way around a kitchen. Leorio moved with a professional ease that was foreign to Kurapika.

“What about spaghetti Bolognese?” Leorio suggested. “It won’t take all that long and you can keep the leftovers for tomorrow.”

“That’s fine,” Kurapika agreed. Where had that Bolognese sauce bottle came from? Maybe his mother had left it there?

“So, why are you staying here?” Leorio asked as he fiddled with the stove knob, a pot of water waiting to boil for the pasta. “Where are your parents?”

Kurapika looked down at the countertop, tracing the pattern with his eyes.

“They’re… busy,” he said, unable to think of anything else to say.

“Everyone’s busy, huh? That sucks,” Leorio said sympathetically.

“I guess. I’m used to it.” Kurapika shrugged. He really was. His parents both travelled a lot. He’d been virtually taking care of himself since he started high school.

But now he was six years old. A six year old shouldn’t be taking care of himself, a fact that Leorio was no doubt aware of, and a fact that was extremely inconvenient for Kurapika.

“Well, Kurapika should know better,” Leorio said. “I’m going to call him once I get this started.”

Kurapika began to panic. Desperately, he searched for a solution. Get his phone and try to fake his voice? If he pretended to have a cold, could he fool Leorio?

But then Leorio would be even more worried about him. He might even call the police. Or, worse, Kurapika’s parents.

There had to be another solution. Something that would keep Leorio from taking immediate action and give Kurapika time to come up with a plan…

“I should wash,” Kurapika said. “Mother always makes me wash my hands and face before meals.”

“Okay.” Leorio looked a little surprised and amused to hear that, but didn’t argue with Kurapika.

Kurapika fled the kitchen and the delicious smells beginning to permeate the air. Behind him, he heard Leorio mutter into a cloud of steam, “This kid really reminds me of Kurapika…”

Kurapika ran up the stairs and into his bedroom where he’d left his phone. He picked it up and checked his messages. One from Leorio, telling him about his missing bag and that he’d drop it off on his way home.

Kurapika stared at the message text box, an idea beginning to take shape in his mind. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would buy him time. He began to tap out a message to Leorio.

> Sorry, not home. Something came up. Have to leave, don’t know for how long. Need big favour.

Kurapika paused. ‘Big’ was an understatement.

> Can you look out for my cousin Pairo for me?

Kurapika sent the message. Leorio was the kindest person Kurapika knew. Surely he’d agree. He wouldn’t like it, but he’d agree.

Kurapika waited impatiently for a response, making sure that his phone was on silent in the meantime. If Leorio decided to ring him rather than reply via text, he didn’t want Leorio to hear the phone from down in the kitchen.

Thankfully, Leorio did reply by text.

> OK, you asshole. What came up?

Kurapika took a deep breath, throttling down his first reaction, which was to throw the phone. Asshole? What a jerk. He didn’t have to be so rude about it.

Kurapika texted back.

> Can’t talk about it. Sorry. Thanks.

He turned his phone off and tucked it into his desk drawer, just in case Leorio came into his room and found it. He headed back downstairs to the kitchen, where Leorio was hovering over the stove. Kurapika’s mouth watered. He hadn’t realised that he was actually pretty hungry. And tired, too. His head was beginning to ache again. The aspirin he’d taken when he’d arrived home mustn’t be strong enough.

“Hey,” Leorio greeted him. “I heard from your cousin who is a…” Leorio coughed before continuing, “Jerk.”

Kurapika winced. Leorio had probably been about to use a much much more offensive word, but had just realised that he was speaking to a child and moderated it.

“He said that something’s come up and he asked me to look after you,” Leorio said. “Guess he must be pretty desperate.”

Despite the lighthearted tone in Leorio’s voice, Kurapika could see the lines of worry sharpening Leorio’s face. Guilt nagged at Kurapika like a puppy nipping his ankle.

“I won’t be any trouble. I’ll stay out of your way. I can look after myself,” Kurapika assured him. “I could even stay here on my own. You don’t need to—“

“Hey.” Leorio cut him off mid-sentence, turning to face Kurapika fully as he did so, brandishing a wooden spoon in hand. “Kurapika might think you could, but Kurapika’s used to looking after himself. He’s never had anyone around to take care of him for a long time, so he thinks that other people don’t need that either. He’s wrong and so are you.”

Kurapika stared, stunned. Leorio looked… actually angry. Seeing Leorio in a temper was nothing new, but he really looked as if he felt strongly about what he was saying. As if it were somehow personal.

“Kids need someone to look out for them,” Leorio continued. “It’s not fair to expect them—you to take care of yourself. You shouldn’t have to worry about making dinner or getting yourself to school. That’s an adult’s responsibility.”

Kurapika had no idea what to say except, "Oh." He'd had an inkling that Leorio wasn't impressed with his (lack of) parental supervision, but Leorio had never voiced it outright. Now what was Kurapika going to do? How could he sort this mess out with Leorio constantly hovering over him?

"You've got the same eye condition as Kurapika, huh?" Leorio asked.

"What?" Kurapika blinked, startled by the change in subject.

"Your pupil is slitted like a cat's," Leorio explained. "Kurapika's eyes are the same."

"Oh, yeah," Kurapika said awkwardly.

"Must be genetic," Leorio speculated.

"I don't know," Kurapika said truthfully. It wasn't a trait that his parents or the real Pairo shared, so maybe it wasn't genetic, but Kurapika couldn't say that.

"Are you enrolled in school yet?" Leorio inquired. He'd rolled up his shirt sleeves and donned one of Kurapika's mother's aprons. This was definitely a side of Leorio that he’d never shown Kurapika before, and it was throwing Kurapika further off-balance than he already was.

He’d always considered Leorio to be somewhat of a mild nuisance. Leorio was always around, despite Kurapika’s efforts to deter him. Kurapika couldn’t bring himself to be outright rude to him, though, leading to a somewhat awkward friendship forming. Kurapika often wondered why Leorio put up with him at all. Kurapika didn’t think that he was worth the trouble.

Maybe Leorio had befriended him because he really was just a kind person? That explained why he was standing in Kurapika’s kitchen, cooking a meal for a strange child who wasn’t supposed to be his responsibility, and somehow managing to make it appear that the whole situation wasn’t inconvenient for him at all, though Kurapika knew that Leorio would certainly have preferred to be back at his own apartment right now. Not taking care of his irresponsible friend’s cousin.

"Not yet," Kurapika mumbled, in answer to Leorio’s question about his schooling plans. How was he going to pull that off?

"We'll have to look into that," Leorio said.

The spaghetti bolognese was delicious. Kurapika couldn't remember the last time he'd had a home-cooked meal and savoured every bite. Leorio sat across from him at the dining room table, partaking in his own generous share.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here," Leorio said.

"Why not?" Kurapika pouted. It was childish, but he was a child at the moment anyway.

"It's not convenient for me," Leorio explained. "It would be easier for you to stay at my place."

"But--" Kurapika cut himself off, frowning. He couldn't think of a good rebuttal.

"It'll only be until Kurapika gets back," Leorio assured him.

"Do you have room?" Kurapika asked numbly. He thought of Leorio's tiny, cluttered apartment. He lived alone, since he was two years older than Kurapika, but his small apartment was a far cry from Kurapika's two-storey family home.

"I've got room," Leorio said. "You're pretty small. I think I can squeeze you in somewhere." He grinned at Kurapika, who glowered back. Kurapika had always been on the short side, even as a sixteen year old teenager. As a child, he was still shorter than an average six year old.

"Okay," Kurapika muttered, resigning himself to his circumstances. Leorio was preparing for college. He was busy getting textbooks, sorting out his classes and trying to make a hectic schedule workable. He wanted to become a doctor so he couldn't slack off, even during school breaks. Kurapika was already imposing on him. It would be selfish of him to expect Leorio to upend his life any more than absolutely necessary.

"It'll be fun," Leorio said reassuringly. "You've got nothing to worry about, Pairo."

Personally, Kurapika thought that he had plenty to worry about, but he nodded gloomily anyway. Leorio rolled his eyes in response, obviously aware that he hadn't convinced Kurapika at all.

After cleaning up the dishes, Leorio instructed Kurapika to grab his belongings. When Kurapika returned to the entrance hall with only his phone stashed in his school jacket's pocket, Leorio eyed him skeptically.

"Where's your stuff?" he asked.

Kurapika shrugged again. He'd been lucky that his mother had kept his old school uniform, but that was all she'd kept from his childhood, as far as he knew. He had no other clothes or belongings to take. Everything else he had belonged to his sixteen-year-old self.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Leorio exclaimed. He threw his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry, kid, but your parents are hopeless! Who sends a kid away with nothing? Hasn't Kurapika taken you shopping yet?"

"I only got here today," Kurapika explained in defence of his older self, shuffling his feet. His black school shoes scuffed the hardwood floor.

"God," was all Leorio said.

After making sure that the house was locked and secure, Leorio hustled Kurapika to his apartment, which was a few train stops away. Just as Kurapika had expected, it was as cluttered as he remembered.

"Sorry about the mess," Leorio apologised as he pushed some textbooks and magazines off the sofa, clearing a spot for Kurapika to sit. Kurapika did, his feet dangling above the floor. He felt unusually uncomfortable in the apartment, despite the fact that he'd visited Leorio many times in the past.

"I'll make up a bed for you on the sofa," Leorio told him. "It's actually pretty comfortable. Spent a few nights there myself. Better find you something to change into..."

Leorio found a spare shirt for Kurapika to wear in place of pyjamas before letting Kurapika shower. Kurapika had expected to be shooed off to bed after that, but Leorio surprised him by fixing him a hot chocolate.

"I'll take you shopping tomorrow," Leorio said as he and Kurapika sat at the tiny table that took up most of the kitchen floor space, sipping their hot chocolate.

"Can you afford that?" Kurapika asked, panic once again setting in.

"Not really," Leorio admitted, "But I'll hit Kurapika up for the money. He'll pay me back."

Leorio sounded confident in his assertion, yet Kurapika wasn't sure why. Kurapika had always paid for his share of the bills, but this was going above and beyond the bounds of their friendship, in Kurapika's opinion. Kurapika had, objectively, already shoved a responsibility that should have been his alone on Leorio without warning. Why did Leorio think that he wouldn't do the same with the financial burden?

He wouldn't, of course, but how did Leorio know that? Did he trust Kurapika that much? And if he did feel that way... then why the insults about how irresponsible Kurapika was?

"I guess that's all right," Kurapika said, not knowing what else to say. All he could think was that he was really being unfair to Leorio. He wished that he had another option.

"Are you all right, Pairo? You look a bit pale," Leorio observed. "Your eyes are a little unfocused, too."

"Um... I guess I'm tired," Kurapika mumbled. Truthfully, his headache was intensifying. Could he ask for more aspirin? Would that make Leorio suspicious?

Since Leorio was studying to become a doctor, it probably would, Kurapika thought morosely.

Leorio frowned. "It is late," he admitted, though he didn't look like he was buying Kurapika's excuse. Had he seen something else in Kurapika's behaviour that evening that was causing him to become suspicious? Kurapika thought back over his actions but came up with nothing.

Though he might have had his suspicions, Leorio let Kurapika go to bed without any further fuss. The sofa was actually very comfortable, as Leorio had claimed, and Kurapika fell asleep quickly despite his headache.

However, he didn't stay asleep for long.

A hand shook his shoulder. Kurapika grumbled, confused and groggy. As someone who was used to getting himself out of bed, being woken by someone else was a foreign experience and he thought that he must still be dreaming.

But the hand persisted.

"Hey, wake up."

Leorio? Kurapika rolled over to glare at his friend, who was kneeling beside the sofa, something in his hand. Something that glowed. Kurapika could just make out the familiar colours of his phone's wallpaper.

Sense returned to Kurapika immediately. He sat up before realising that he'd done so a little too quickly. He groaned and rubbed gingerly at the back of his head.

"This is Kurapika's phone," Leorio said quietly. "Why do you have Kurapika's phone?"

"Um..."

Kurapika had no good excuse. Damn, it was too late for this sort of confrontation. Kurapika just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Did he really have to leave?" Leorio inquired. "What's going on here, kid?"

"Um..." Kurapika repeated intelligently.

"Your eye condition isn't hereditary," Leorio continued. "The chance of cousins having it is incredibly low."

Oops.

Leorio waved the phone at him. "This is going to sound crazy," he said. "But are you really Kurapika? Because, if it weren't for the fact that you're a kid, I'd swear that you were Kurapika."

Kurapika sighed and pulled the blanket tightly around himself. "I am Kurapika," he admitted.

Rather than looking victorious, Leorio's confusion only grew.

"But you're... short," he said helplessly, waving Kurapika’s phone in the air as if to illustrate his point, which actually illustrated nothing at all. It only served to irritate Kurapika, but he couldn’t afford to dwell on that right now.

“If you’re really Kurapika, then prove it,” Leorio challenged.

Kurapika groaned. Of course Leorio would say that.

“How am I supposed to do that?” he demanded.

Leorio frowned. “I guess you could tell me something only Kurapika knows. Something he wouldn’t have told anyone else…like, what you said to me just before we went on the Tunnel of Love ride.”

Kurapika frowned in response, searching his memory. “Do you mean when I said we weren’t in love?” he asked.

“You make it sound so innocent,” Leorio muttered. “You were actually kind of an asshole about it… I guess you must be Kurapika, since it’s pretty unlikely that he would have had time to mention that to anyone.”

Rather than ease Leorio’s worry, the revelation seemed to only increase it. Leorio’s eyes were full of gentle concern as he looked more closely at Kurapika’s face. “What happened?” he asked.

“You remember those two strange men who were on the Tunnel of Love ride?”

“The old guys?” Leorio asked.

Kurapika nodded and went on to explain the event to an incredulous Leorio as best he could remember it. After enduring Leorio's fussing over his head injury, Kurapika's phone was returned to him and he was allowed to go back to sleep with the promise that they'd talk further in the morning.

Kurapika was almost glad that Leorio knew his secret now. He had an ally--one he could trust. The men who had done this to him thought that he was dead. If they found out that their drug hadn't worked as intended and Kurapika had survived, they'd no doubt return to finish the job. Leorio would be in danger as well, since Kurapika was staying with him.

Leorio could be an invaluable ally. Kurapika's parents viewed him as a somewhat irresponsible but stabilising and reliable influence on their son. They wouldn't bat an eye if Kurapika told them that he was getting a little lonely and had decided to stay with Leorio for a while. With Leorio reassuring them that Kurapika was fine, his parents would not worry.

Kurapika could finally turn his thoughts to other pressing problems—like finding the bastards that did this to him and finding a way to return to his normal age. No way was he going through grade school again.


End file.
